Coma Black
by silhouette saloon
Summary: 10 years after the two worlds were saved, Mithos is back with a new plan to wreck havoc. Good and evil are at war again and sides must be taken; Genis must now make a decision and live with the outcome of it. Genis/Mithos. Ch 14 up.
1. introduction

**COMA BLACK**

BY SILHOUETTE SALOON

**A/N: **My first fic! Just wanted to say that I changed the plotline a little bit, with Genis being the ending character (Lloyd's 'soulmate'), getting possessed by Mithos after making the pact with Origin, but not going with Lloyd post-game to destroy exspheres. This story will probably be really long and I know where I'm going with it. ;) Enjoy. Also, it's (obviously) inspired by the song "Coma Black" by Marilyn Manson.

**PAIRINGS:** Mainly Genis/Mithos with some Genis/Presea along the way, and there's some implied-but-mostly-friendshippy Sheena/Raine.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...and the world stood still._

* * *

I remember it. I remember it all. Everything. It was so long ago, but the memories are still engraved into my head. Love, betrayal, battle, death, and all the feelings attached to them. Sometimes the feelings still come. When I think back to those moments, I can almost relive them. The emotions I felt back then hit me like waves; crushing, overwhelming. I don't think i'll really forget it. I don't think I'll ever really forget him.

Love. I've never been able to truly relive those feelings to the full extent of the moments when I felt them; I've only come so close. Love, it's such an overused word. It's thrown around so lightly now that I'm almost hesitant to use it, but there is no other word for those feelings I had. When I was around him, I felt like I was flying. When we touched, when we kissed, it was pure bliss. It was like there was nothing in the world but the two of us. It was like nothing else mattered except that we both felt strongly about each other... we both loved each other.

But do those feelings ever really last?

Betrayal. I was completely used. He lied to me. He lied to everyone. But nobody was as hurt as I was. After all, they weren't the ones who loved him. They didn't understand. And most of all, they weren't the ones being discriminated against because of something they can't change. He wanted a world where everyone could live together, free of discrimination (but I'll admit that his plan wasn't the greatest). Everyone claimed they could see the story from his perspective. They SAID they understood, but they really didn't. I think back to those memories and I get that horrible, sinking feeling in my chest. He used me.

If they truly understood, would they have been so willing to fight him?

Battle. At the time, there were two battles going on. One on the outside, one on the inside. We had to fight against him. I had to fight my feelings. I was in love with him. I agreed with his ideas. I could help him find a better way to execute them. Part of me wanted to take his side. But alas, the other part of me knew it was right not to, that I should side with my friends, the only humans I had ever liked. I was fighting two battles at once. This indecision still plagues me today. I still wonder what would have happened if I had picked the other side.

What was I supposed to do?

Death. We had won the fight. His soul lived on inside his Cruxis Crystal. He pleaded for us to kill him. We shattered the Crystal and that was the last time I saw him. Even now, so long after, I can still hardly believe he's gone. I'll never see him again. Everything felt empty, I just didn't know what to do anymore. I felt hopeless, alone, and most of all, lonely.

But I had a secret. A secret that could put the whole world at risk.

After his Cruxis Crystal was shattered, I kept a shard of it.

He was the only thing I wanted! I just wanted to hold him again, to be with him. He was the best thing I ever had. I knew he truly wanted to die, but I wasn't ready to let go. For a short while, I fed the shard some of my mana. Just enough to remind me that some of his soul still lived on inside that tiny Crystal fragment.

Shortly afterward, I realized how selfish I had been. I felt horrible. I realized I should discard of the Crystal shard immediately, but I didn't have the heart to totally destroy it. I was such a coward. It has to take some courage to kill the one you truly love. I commend those who are able to do it. I couldn't. Instead of destroying it, I went all the way to the top of the Tower of Mana and I tossed the small, red fragment as far as I possibly could...

That was ten years ago. After that, I thought it would be over, but it was only just beginning.


	2. mouth was a crib

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_my mouth was a crib..._

* * *

"Genis?"

I slowly opened my eyes, sat up, and brushed a couple long, silver strands of hair out of my face. I smiled at the pink-haired girl standing over my bed.

"Morning, Presea."

Oh, right. I guess I haven't explained much. My name is Genis. Ten years ago, I helped save two worlds that were doomed to constantly fight for each other's mana. Ever since then, I've been travelling the newly regenerated world with my long-time girlfriend, Presea. I only know what became of a couple of my companions; Lloyd and Colette went on a journey to destroy exspheres, Kratos returned to Derris-Kharlan, and from the last I heard, Raine, my older sister, has been studying the ruins of the world. And Zelos... well, we all know what happened to him. As for the rest? I haven't heard from them.

"How did you sleep?" Presea replied, smiling sweetly back at me.

I shrugged. "Could've been better. So where are we off to today?"

"I'd like to--"

Presea was interrupted by an urgent knock on the door.

I rushed over and opened the door to the Triet hotel room we were staying at.

"What the--"

As soon as I opened it, Sheena collapsed into my arms.

"Sheena!" Presea yelled.

"You're bleeding!" I exclaimed.

"That's not important. Genis. I need to show you something. Come with me." the purple-haired ninja choked out. She looked terribly hurt; her clothes were ripped and her body was covered in scratches, bruises, and burns.

"But I don't want to leave Presea al..." I stopped myself and thought for a second. I hadn't seen Sheena in years. I don't know where she's been or what she's been up to, but if she came all this way to see me while she's so badly injured, it must be important.

"Presea, can you wait for me?" I turned and asked Presea. Presea nodded. I guess she had realized the same thing I did.

"There's no time.. light and messengers of the heavens- I summon thee, Sylphs, Luna!" Sheena gripped my arm with as much might as she could build up. There was a flash of light and a gust of wind and the next thing I knew we were in the small clearing behind the schoolhouse in Iselia.

I stood up. Sheena pulled me down. "Stay down! Just watch!" she hissed.

I poked my head around the schoolhouse.

In the middle of the village was a blonde boy standing over an unrecognizable body.

I was curious. I tried to get a closer look at the scene. I stepped out from behind the schoolhouse. "NO!" Sheena yelled at me.

This was where everything started to get confusing. After Sheena yelled, the blonde boy turned around and looked me in the eye.

Oh my goddess.

It was him.

Those ocean-blue eyes could pierce holes right through me. Oh gosh. Now he was walking towards me. "Well, well, well. If it isn't--"

He was cut off by the cry of "PYRE SEAL!" and an explosion of cards all around him. "Mithos, I'll make you pay!" a familiar voice screamed. I looked behind Mithos and there was Sheena-- but she wasn't hurt at all.

I did a double take. I looked behind the schoolhouse. Sheena was still there, she was still badly injured. But Sheena was also right in front of him, attacking Mithos.

"Pitiful human." was all Mithos said. He raised his hand above his head and yelled "JUDGEMENT!" Rays of light poured from the sky. Sheena quickly dodged the rays, back-flipping and spinning and doing whatever it took to stay alive. She made one wrong footing and she tumbled to the ground, disoriented and unable to dodge the final and biggest ray. Sheena screamed in pain as the ray burned her flesh.

I was in shock from all of this. All I could do was stand and watch, unable to believe anything I was seeing.

Sheena tried to get back on her feet, but she was too late. Mithos touched the Cruxis Crystal above his heart and his wings appeared. He flew over to Sheena and started pummelling her with everything he had. "Don't you dare interfere!" Mithos shouted at the now badly injured girl.

I had only just realized that I wasn't just watching this; I was part of it. I pulled my Kendama out and quickly began casting a spell that would interrupt Mithos' assault.

"SPREAD!" I yelled.

Blades of water burst from the ground and flung Mithos upwards into the air. He lost his focus, giving Sheena enough time to get the hell out of there.

"Light and messengers of the heavens- I summon thee, Sylphs, Luna!" the Sheena I just saved had disappeared. There was no time to ask questions. Mithos was sprawled on the ground, the other Sheena was still injured, and I totally forgot about that body that had been lying there the whole time. Mithos didn't look like he was going to get back up, so I strode over to the body. I gasped.

Pink hair framed the delicate, pale face. Her navy blue dress was ripped. Her body was covered in cuts. It was Presea.

Mithos attacked Presea.

"You son of a bitch!" I cursed under my breath. I glanced over at him. I was taken aback when I saw his wings were fading. He was beginning to stir.

"W-where am I? What happened?" Mithos asked.

But was it really Mithos?

"Mithos, you bastard!" I gritted through barred teeth.

The small, blonde boy (Mithos?) sat up. "Who the hell is Mithos?" he asked, looking puzzled.

I stared at him. This is so confusing! What the fuck is going on!?

I ran over to the kid, picked him up by collar of the shirt, look him straight in the (aqua coloured) eyes, and asked "Who the hell are YOU?"

His eyes were different. This definitely wasn't Mithos. I looked to his heart. The Cruxis Crystal was still there.

"...Can you put me down first?" The mysterious boy asked.

I dropped him to the ground carelessly.

"Asshole. My name is Soth. Now who are you and what's going on?" Soth said gingerly.

I smirked. "I'm Genis, and quite frankly, I'm just as confused as you are."

I couldn't help but stare. He looked so much like Mithos. Same hair, same face, probably even the same--

Oh goddess, Genis, get your mind out of the gutter. Don't be thinking stuff like that about this little prick.

But he looks so much like him...

Why did I still long for his touch?

Sheena weakly got up and waved her arm. "...Injured person here?" she said.

"Sheena, you have some explaining to do." I said as I walked towards her.

"We should go back first.. I'm afraid we've messed up the future enough." Sheena replied.

Future? What?

I hid my confusion and answered with a "Fine, whatever."

"I don't think I have enough mana left in me to summon again.." said Sheena.

I gasped. Am I going to be stuck in the future!?

I put my hands on Sheena's forehead and transferred some of my mana over to her so she could somehow get us back... to the present, I guess. I instantly felt slightly weaker. Sheena's eyes shot open and she jerked slightly forward. Shegave me the strangest look-- it was a mixture of sadness, shock, and pain. What had I done wrong? I smiled down at the summoner and lifted her into my arms, hoping to fix whatever it was I had done. She weakly smiled back at me.

"Thanks, Genis." she breathed out. "I summon thee- Luna, Sylphs!"

And we were back at the Triet Inn.


	3. growing lies

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...and it was growing lies..._

* * *

The light faded and the cyclone of wind gradually slowed down to a gentle breeze.

"Presea! We're back! Are you okay!?" I shouted, sounding concerned.

Presea instantly recognized the concern in my voice. "I'm fine. What was that about?" she asked. "Sheena, you're still hurt. Come and rest." Presea took Sheena out of my arms and laid her down on the bed. She examined her injuries. "Your wounds are serious. I'm afraid I only know one person who will be able to fix this.." she glanced over to me. "Genis, do you know what Raine has been doing over these years?" she questioned.

"She's been travelling. I'm afraid at this point, she'd be impossible to find." I looked away. What is going on?

"But we have to find her! She can save Sheena!"

"I agree. But what will we do with Sheena before we find Raine?"

The pink haired girl reached into the small, black bag on the dresser next to the bed and pulled out a small bottle filled with a blue gel. She opened the bottle and proceeded to spread the liquid over Sheena's wounds. "This should keep her going for now..." She twisted the lid onto the bottle and placed it back in her bag.

"I don't know how we're going to find Raine. She could be anywhere."

Sheena started to sit up, but Presea restrained her. "You need to rest for now." she calmly stated.

"Raine...she is examining the ruins of Heimdall." said Sheena.

"Heimdall it is, then. We'll leave tomorrow. For now, let's relax and rest." I was considering asking her how she knew where Raine was, but I decided against it. She needed to rest, and I needed some answers. I glanced at Presea and I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was.

I pulled up a chair next to the bed Sheena was lying on. "So... care to explain to me what the hell that was?" I asked her. Presea pulled up a chair next to mine. "I also want to know what happened."

Sheena and I briefly recapped the scene at Iselia. There was still lots I didn't understand. Who was that boy? Why was Mithos back? Who is Soth, and what does he have to do with everything?

Presea nodded. "Ah... I see. Sheena, please explain some of this." I looked her in the eyes. "Yeah. First of all, was that really the future? How did we get there?" I questioned.

Sheena sat up and placed her pillow behind her back. "Yes. That was the future, but I'm not sure how far into the future it was." she sighed. "I kept my pact with Luna, Aska and the Sylphs because I found that if you combine the powers of wind and light, you can travel through time."

I crossed my legs and looked gave her a funny look. "Explain." I said.

"Well, when you concentrate a mass amount of wind into light, it will act as a prompt to send you faster than the speed of light itself. And if the Theory of Relativity is correct, when you travel faster than light, you can travel through time." she smirked. "That's what I've been doing all these years. Time travelling. Mostly watching the events of the future and trying to figure out how they can be prevented. By now, I've prevented the peace from being put at risk many, many times." She looked into my eyes. "But you did was very wrong. You broke the number one rule of time travel-- NEVER interfere with the events taking place. You can go back to the present and try to prevent the events, but if you interfere with the future or the past, you'll screw up the future even more."

"Well, I did save your life. At least give me some credit for that. If I hadn't have interfered, you would've been even more hurt." I replied.

"You may have helped in the short term, but you never know what could happen in the future now." Sheena replied coldly.

I sighed. "Next set of questions. Why did you take me? Why didn't you take Presea, too? Why did you show me that?"

"I didn't have enough mana to take three people through time. I'm injured, see? When you're sick or hurt, your mana drains. You should know that, Genis." she said. "Anyway, I took you there because I need you to stop that."

"If you wanted me to stop, you could've just explained the situation to me. Why go to such extreme measures like summoning--while you're injured--to try and stop me from going to Iselia?"

She let out a little laugh. "If I told you that Mithos was back and attacked Presea, you obviously wouldn't have believed me. You need confirmation with your own eyes. I gave you that. Now don't go to Iselia, okay?"

"Why was he attacking Presea?" I demanded.

"I don't know any of the details. I just need you two to stay the hell away from Iselia."

"If it will keep me safe, we can do that." Presea replied.

We spent the rest of the day lazing around Triet. Sheena stayed at the Inn the whole time while Presea tended to her wounds. I went and bought some gels at the item shop and spent the rest of the day aimlessly wandering around the city, thinking.

Why is he back? What could he possibly want? Why do I still want him so badly? Why am I still thinking about him when I have an amazing girlfriend who I truly care for? Is there anything that could work out between us? Was that really the end?

A thousand questions were rolling through my mind. I sat down on the dock of the only source of water in the blistering hot city. I needed to get my thoughts straight.

I heard footsteps behind me. "Are you all right?" I heard Presea's now too-familiar voice ask.

I turned around and gazed deeply into her beautiful light blue eyes. She was gorgeous. Her long, pink hair messily framed her face; her signature pigtails were long gone and she wore her hair down. The pink locks fell to her waist.

Reality snapped back to me and I realized that I had been staring. "Oh, sorry. Yes. I'm fine." I gave a bit of a fake smile and looked away quickly.

"I can tell that's a lie." she sat down beside me. "But if you don't want to talk about it... I won't pester you." she sighed.

"He's back." I said bluntly. "I'm not so sure how I'm supposed to feel about that."

She turned to me and smiled. "Just remember," she responded, "that what you saw was the future, and the future can be changed. You can't take back anything you've done, but you can change your actions to make a better future."

"Thank you." I said. I turned to her, took her face in my hands, and we kissed passionately. Love. It engulfed me like the strongest water spell. It was so overwhelming... I love kissing her. When we kiss, those feelings from all those years ago come back to me. Obviously not as strong as the first time I felt them, of course, but the feeling is still completely breathtaking. My stomach flutters and my body feels light as air. Everything seems happy and perfect and amazing and--

We broke the kiss and looked each other straight in the eyes. It was like her gaze could see straight into my soul.

"Presea?"

"Genis."

"I don't want you to get hurt."

There was a moment of silence while we started at each other, simply enjoying being in one another's presence. "Let's go back to the Inn." I quickly suggested. We got up and walked back to the Inn hand-in-hand.

As soon as we entered our room, Sheena propped herself up on her elbows and asked "And where were you two?"

I thought for a second. "Um, you know, just out doing...stuff..." I stammered.

"Like making out by the lake?" Sheena asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And how exactly do you know about that?" I retorted.

"I have a great view of the city from the window." She smirked.

"Well, whatever. What we were doing isn't important. What's important is that we get some sleep so we can go to Heimdall tomorrow to look for Raine." Presea stated matter-of-factly.

We all agreed on that and we crawled into bed. I took Presea in my arms.

"How do we know we can trust Sheena?" Presea whispered into my ear.

"I saw it myself! I saw you on the ground! I saw Sheena get attacked! I saw... Mithos. And I know Sheena. She was a good friend of ours. She wouldn't betray us." I whispered back.

"Well, if you trust her, I will trust her too." replied Presea.

"...I love you, you know that?" I whispered to her.

"Yes. I know that very well." She gave me a quick kiss before we both drifted off to sleep.


	4. didn't know love

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...i didn't know what love was..._

* * *

"Are we getting close?" I groaned, carrying Sheena, who was still too badly hurt to walk.

Sheena looked around. "I'd say so, but then again, everything in this swamp looks the same.." It had been a long time since I'd been to Heimdall; I tried to avoid the place at all costs due to my half-elf background. However, it's been ten years... hopefully race relations will be better there by now. I sighed, thinking back to those days. The pureblood elves wouldn't even let Raine and I into the village; and when we finally convinced them to let us in, we weren't even allowed to use any of their facilities.

"Here we are," Presea said.

We entered the village. It was a ghost town here. It was still in ruins; it was obvious that not much effort had been made to repair any of the damage done and the elves were long gone. How will we find Raine here?

Well, when you really think about it, if she still has a thing for wearing orange, she won't be too hard to find. Just look for something big and orange.

I glanced around the village (obviously looking for something big and orange), but I didn't see her. Not yet, anyway. We made our way towards the outskirts of the village, where the elder's house was. If she was anywhere, she was bound to be there. There was so much there for her to study that I would be surprised if she was anywhere else. I was careful not to trip on any debris as I was still carrying Sheena.

We approached what used to be the elder's house and I smiled as I saw what appeared to be an orange figure in the distance.

"Raine!" I shouted, running as fast as I could with the slender ninja in my arms.

The figure turned around. "Genis..? Presea?" the woman asked, sounding surprised.

She looked different, but it was definitely Raine. Her hair had grown-- alot. Her silvery hair hung down to about her mid-back. It was messy, and she looked like she hadn't slept in days. She had dark circles under her eyes and she seemed disoriented. She was wearing a long, baggy, floor-length orange robe that had black tribal designs creeping up to her waist and she held a tall wooden staff. She stood in front of a hastily set up tent.

"Yes. It's me, Raine." I replied. Presea nodded towards Raine.

"Raine... I-I'm sorry..." Sheena choked out, tears in her eyes.

Raine's attention was quickly drawn to the broken and bruised figure in my arms. She was so shocked to see us that she hadn't noticed Sheena. "Sheena! You're back!" She exclaimed.

Presea stepped up. "We can explain everything later. For now, Sheena needs your healing arts."

Raine walked towards me with a noticeable limp and lifted Sheena out of my grasp. "Just leave her with me." she said and turned away. "You two. Are you busy for the next couple of days?"

"I don't believe so." said Presea.

Raine placed Sheena on one of the sleeping bags inside the tent and quickly cast a healing spell. She turned back to us. "Would you mind staying for a couple days?"

"We'd love to." I said instantly. I mean, we hadn't seen each other in years! I wouldn't turn down an invitation to catch up from my older sister anyway, but the last time I saw her was about two years ago when we crossed paths on a trip through Asgard.

I gathered a small amount of wood and laid it down a couple of feet from the entrance to the tent. "Fireball!" I cast a weak fire spell to keep us warm for the night as I had only realized a moment ago that the sun was starting to set. Time flies when you're travelling.

Later that night when Presea and Sheena were fast asleep, Raine and I went and sat around the fire. Raine started downward and watched the flames dance across the burning mass of sticks and twigs. I recognized that look. She was thinking very hard about something.

"What's up, Raine?" I said, moving closer toward my older sister.

She was silent for a moment, pondering what to say. "What did Sheena tell you?" Raine questioned, finally looking up from the fire.

"She told me she'd been travelling through time to try and prevent disruption of the world's peace. But she also... took me forward in time and showed me something."

The older half-elf shot straight up at this. "What did she show you!?" Raine demanded, grabbing my arms.

"I don't know how far forward she took us, but she took me to Iselia. And... Mithos. He was there. He was standing over Presea's body. He attacked Sheena. But there were two Sheenas... one was badly injured--the one that took me there--and another Sheena who was attacking Mithos. He saw me. I don't know what he was about to do, but the Sheena who WASN'T injured attacked him, and he attacked back. He was about to beat her to death, but I interrupted with a spell. The Sheena I just watched get assaulted disappeared and Mithos was knocked out. He got back up, and he... he WASN'T Mithos. I don't know if it makes any sense, but he looked exactly like Mithos and it was definitely the same body that I had attacked, but... his eyes... they were different. He said his name with Soth and he even denied he knew who Mithos was." I shook my head. Raine probably thought I was crazy.

But then again, with some of the things we've seen, this probably sounded pretty sane.

Raine turned to me, looked me in the eyes, and slapped me across the face. The pain was sharp and familiar.

"Heh. You obviously haven't changed a bit." I said, smirking at her.

"This is not a joke. Do you have any idea what you did?" Raine hissed at me. She was obviously trying hard not to wake Presea and Sheena. "You broke the number one rule of t--" I sighed. "Sheena already lectured me for that. But I couldn't just let her die, Mithos obviously wasn't going to stop. Plus, I had no idea what was going on at the time. I didn't know we were in the future or anything like that."

Raine slapped me again. "That's no excuse!" she said.

"Umm, yes it is. You're being totally unreasonable. I had no idea we were in the future. What are you supposed to think when a friend you haven't seen in years shows up at the Inn you're staying at, bruised and bloody, and tells you to come with her? Time travel obviously isn't the first thing I would assume."

Raine looked away, defeated. "Whatever." She was still the same as I remember-- rash and unable to admit she's wrong. "So that was all Sheena said?" she looked back at me. "Yes, that's all." Raine stood up--with difficulty, I noticed--and started to walk in the direction of the tent. She stopped at the entrance. "Well, in that case, I guess we have some explaining to do. I will fill you and Presea in tomorrow morning. Goodnight." She stepped into the tent.

I was confused again. What was happening? So much had occurred within the past two days. My head felt like it was spinning. What could Raine have meant by that?


	5. on that day

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...on that day..._

* * *

Last night was all a blur after Raine had left. I remember I sat there in silence for what seemed like hours doing nothing but simply thinking. I remember going back into the tent and I remember I couldn't sleep, but that's about all.

I opened my eyes. I was just in time to watch the sunrise. I slipped into my long, blue coat, brushed a hand through my messy, shoulder-length hair, tied my shoes, and quietly tiptoed outside. I sat down on a flat rock near our campsite. I thought back to yesterday, entering the remains of what used to be the village of elves, and hoping the race relations would be better here. I let out a silent laugh as I looked around and saw nothing but eroded destruction. I gazed up at the rising sun and my thoughts started to wander. I didn't know what was going on, so I started making a mental list of the things I wanted and the things I didn't. I wanted Presea to be safe. I wanted to know what Sheena and Raine were doing. I wanted to know why Mithos was back. I wanted to scream out of frustration. I wanted Mithos.

No! I didn't want Mithos. I didn't want Mithos. I didn't want Mithos.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Maybe you'll actually start to believe it.

Ugh. the indecision is back again. I know I shouldn't want him. I should want Presea. And I do, I want her so much. But I also want Mithos.

I snickered to myself when I realized how much my thoughts had been side-tracked. But that little thought wouldn't go away...

I didn't want to leave Presea. I didn't want more conflict. I didn't want to be confused anymore. I didn't want the scene in Iselia to happen.

But most importantly, I didn't want to feel like this anymore.

"You don't have to."

The voice came from all around me. It came from every direction. The voice was...

The voice was inside my head.

But the voice was so familiar.

What the fuck?

What was that?

Just another thing to think about.

I headed back toward the humble-looking tent. As soon as I got close, Sheena poked her head out. "You're up early." she said.

Stepping inside the tent, I replied to her remark with a "You noticed."

I took a good look at Sheena. She was looking better already. Raine had cleaned up her cuts, and her burns didn't look as severe. She was obviously feeling a bit better due to the healing spells Raine had used the night before.

"Raine told me you two had something to tell us." I approached the situation flat-out.

"Yeah. We're closet lesbians." Sheena joked, grinning ear-to-ear.

I shot her a nasty look. "You know why that's not funny."

In response, she raised up her hands and replied, "Alright, alright, sorry. Calm down."

I glared at her and simply asked, "What was it you had to tell us?"

"I'll tell you when Presea and Raine are up." Sheena looked away.

"We've been up and listening this whole time."

Presea and Raine both sat up. Raine smirked. "Next time, could you keep it down a bit?" I shrugged. "Whatever you say, sis."

The situation instantly became serious. "So, we have to talk to you two." said Raine, the smile fading from her face.

"What is it?" Presea asked, revealing her curiosity.

"Sheena and I have been working together for the past four years to prevent catastrophe by time-travelling using the combined power of Sylph and Luna." Raine stated.

"We knew Sheena had been time travelling, but we had no idea you were involved, too." I said.

"Since Sheena is the one with the pact, she is the one who does all the time-travelling. I however..." Raine quickly glanced away. "With this artifact, when I transfer a small amount of my mana into this orb..." Raine reached behind her and pulled out her wooden staff. I only now just noticed the clear orb on the top of the rod... it was quite beautiful. The older half-elf continued. "...I get visions of the future. So with my ability to see the future and Sheena's ability to time travel..."

"...we make a great team." Sheena finished.

"I still don't know much about the orb, my visions, and the connection. But for the past four years, this system has worked and saved the world many, many times."

Presea thought for a second. "Wait. If Sheena can time travel, wouldn't she be able to see the future anyway? So Raine, what is your... purpose?"

Raine looked at Presea. "First, time travel take a lot of mana. If Sheena alone were to time travel all the time to check what's happening in the future, by now she would probably be...dead." Raine looked down at the navy blue sleeping bag she was sitting on. Her gaze shot back up to Presea. "Second, when I get my visions, I know WHEN in time they are. It's impossible to go anywhere if you don't know where you're going. It's a rule of life, and it applies to time travel, too. Think of it like having an axe, but not knowing how to fight. Even if you have the resources to do something, if you have no way of knowing how to do it, you can't do it."

Presea nodded. "That makes sense. Thank you, Raine."

"However, if you know the exact events that are taking place, you can time travel to get to them. It's complicated, but it works." Sheena added to Raine's explanation.

I shifted my position so that I was sitting cross-legged. "So, why did you seek us out?" I asked.

Sheena spoke up. "We needed to tell you to stay away from Iselia."

"Why is that? Since Sheena travelled through time to not only take me to the Iselia scene, but also to take me back, wouldn't you know exactly when this scene will happen, so you can just tell us to stay away from Iselia that particular day instead of going 'just-stay-the-hell-away-from-Iselia'?"

Raine's expression changed. It was tough to read it. She looked sad, but I really couldn't tell why.

"Because this... this vision was different."

Presea cocked her head to the side. "How so?"

"This vision was not prompted by the orb." Raine sighed. "I-I still don't know what happened. I was outside the ruins of the elder's house, examining the staff... I remember I could feel a hand on the back of my head... then the next thing I knew, it felt like I was living a dream."

Sheena told her perspective. "I was near the lake preparing food. I remembered hearing Raine scream, so I ran as fast as I could back to our campsite. When I found her, she was unconscious and sprawled on the ground. I tried to shake her awake, but as soon as I touched her, it was like I was... teleported to a whole different world. I remember that one second I was panicking, trying to wake my unconscious friend, and then the next, I was in Iselia, watching Presea get attacked by Mithos."

"That was my 'dream'. I was watching the exact same thing as Sheena, but unlike Sheena, I did not break the number one rule of time travel." Raine took time out of her story to glare at Sheena. "I saw everything you described last night, Genis. I saw Presea being attacked, I saw Sheena fight Mithos, I saw Sheena get assaulted, I saw you stop him, I saw Soth, I saw you give Sheena your mana. But as soon as you and Sheena warped away, I was back here in Heimdall."

I looked toward Sheena. "I think I speak for everyone when I say I'm anxious to hear your side of the story."

"Well..." Sheena said quietly. "When we were teleported to Iselia, we were too late to save Presea. I was so angry, and I guess my anger got the better of me... I saw Mithos turn around and say something. I didn't want anyone else to get hurt. The next thing I knew, I was attacking him, and he started attacking me, too. I was hit by a spell, and then he began to hit me. The blows wouldn't stop coming. Suddenly, water shot up through the ground and threw him up into the air, giving me enough time to get out of there."

"And leave me behind." Raine added.

"I was injured. I had to get out of there right away. What was I supposed to do?" Sheena replied with a harsh tone. Raine started to say something, but was cut off. "I had some friends who told me a couple days before this that they saw you and Presea heading to Triet. I figured that since it was Presea who had been attacked, telling you two would be the best idea, and the fact that I knew your whereabouts made it extra-convenient. I went back to the present and I found you two pretty easily, because let's face it, you kind of...stick out." I looked at Presea with her long, pink hair and slim-fitting navy blue dress. Then of course there's me, with my messy, shoulder-length, near-white hair and blue-gray trench coat. Huh. I guess we do stick out.

"So how did you get back to the future?" Presea questioned. She seemed intrigued.

"Well, as I explained earlier, when I time travel, I need to one of two things- the exact events taking place or the exact time of the events. If I know either or both of those, I can go there."

Raine spoke up. "Hopefully all of this makes a bit more sense to you both now."

"It does. Thanks, Raine, Sheena." I said. I got up and stepped out of the tent. I needed to clear my thoughts.


	6. heart's a tiny bloodclot

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...heart's a tiny bloodclot..._

* * *

I didn't realize how long we had been talking until I saw the sun high in the sky. Now that I knew a bit more about the situation, I could go back over the mental lists I had made earlier. I walked away from the campsite and into the woods, pulling out my kendama just so I'd be prepared for any possible monster attacks.

I wanted Presea to be safe.

I wanted to know what Sheena and Raine were doing. -They've been time travelling to prevent the world's peace from being put at risk.

I wanted to know why Mithos was back.

I wanted to scream out of frustration.

I wanted Mithos. -...no, I didn't want Mithos. Or did I?

I didn't want to leave Presea.

I didn't want more conflict.

I didn't want to be confused anymore. -I'm not quite as confused anymore, but still confused enough not to cross it off my list.

I didn't want the scene in Iselia to happen.

I didn't want to feel like this anymore.

The deeper I went into the woods, the deeper I sank into thought. By the time I was at the centre of the woods, I was so deep in thought that I was sure nothing could interrupt me.

Until I heard screams.

As soon as I heard screams coming from the direction of the campsite, everything snapped back to me and I ran as fast as I could, nearly tripping over tree roots and rocks many times. I had to get back...

I was getting closer. From a distance, all I could see were two figures...one with wings.

Could it be...?

I got closer and hid behind the ruins of what used to be a house. I found a small hole in the stone wall I was leaning against and peered out of it.

I gasped.

It was just like what happened at Iselia!

Raine was crouched on the ground, her orange robe stained red. Mithos was floating in front of her. Raine was coughing up blood. What had happened!?

"I will ask you one more time. Where is he!?" Mithos demanded.

"I-- He went to Iselia--" Raine choked out.

"In that case, I will spare your life. Just remember. If you are lying, I will come back and kill you."

Mithos turned around, flapped his multicoloured wings, and flew out of the ruined city.

As soon as I was sure he was gone, I jumped out from behind the debris. "Raine! Oh my goddess, are you alright!?" I ran over to my wounded sister.

"Pass me my staff.." Raine quietly said. Crimson blood was dripping from her mouth. I didn't waste any time. I raced over to the tent, grabbed the tall, wooden rod, ran back, and placed it in her open hand.

Raine used the staff to prop her up from the ground. She stretched her arms out in front of her, holding her staff parallel to the ground she stood on. I quickly jumped behind her and grabbed her forearms, supporting her as she silently chanted a healing spell. "Nurse!" she cried as she raised her staff to the sky. I let go of her and she wiped the blood away from her mouth with the sleeve of her robe.

"What happened!?" I demanded.

"You were gone for over two hours... we were getting worried, so Presea and Sheena left to look for you." She paused. "Sheena's healing quickly."

"That's beside the point! How did you... what did..." I was so flustered, I was completely lost for words.

Raine sighed. "Shortly after they left, I could feel a definite presence. I was inside the tent reading; I grabbed my staff and stepped outside, ready for a battle. As soon as I stepped out, I was grabbed by the neck and lifted off the ground. The person who did that was Mithos... he was the presence I felt. He asked me where you were."

My heart almost jumped out of my chest. "Mithos? Asking for me?" I was stunned. All the confusion that had been cleared up earlier had just come back.

"Yes." Raine nodded. "I told him I didn't know. That was the truth. He dropped me to the ground and punched in the throat." She examined the blood on her sleeve. "He asked me several more times. Every time I told him I didn't know, he would hurt me again."

She glanced off into space. "Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore. I told him you went to--" Raine stopped. "Oh my gosh." she put her hand up to her mouth. "I.. I told him you went to Iselia."

I gasped. "What!? Why!?"

Raine quickly looked away, trying not to meet my gaze. "I just couldn't take it anymore, I had to tell him something... Iselia was the first place that came to mind..." she trailed off. "And then he said that... oh, never mind." said Raine. "Genis." She looked me in the eyes.

"What?"

Her gaze was piercing and her expression suddenly went cold.

"I am dying."

We were interrupted by the Sheena and Presea running toward us. "Raine, I'm really, really sorry. We couldn't find h--" Sheena stopped and smirked. "In that case, never mind." Presea noticed the blood on Raine's robe. "Professor! What happened!?" she exclaimed.

Raine giggled. "Professor. Nobody's called me that in a long time."

"We're serious!" Sheena yelled.

"Mithos was here. He attacked Raine while he was looking for me." I looked down at my feet.

We briefly recapped the events of the attack.

"Mithos, that bastard!" Sheena screamed.

"Y-you told him we were in Iselia..." Presea said.

"Well, all we have to do is not go to Iselia. Problem solved." Sheena replied.

I raised an eyebrow at Sheena. "Well, if we just stay here and he goes to Iselia, afterwards he'll obviously come back looking for us."

"Genis is right. I think we should relocate ourselves." Presea suggested.

Sheena sighed. "I've gotta agree with Presea. We should leave this area." She paused for a moment so she could think. "We should go to Mizuho." the purple-haired ninja suggested.

I saw Raine open her mouth. It looked like she was about to protest, but what could she possibly be protesting against?

Raine sighed. "Fine. We'll go to Mizuho. We shall leave in the morning. In the mean time, everybody get some rest."

The sun had set and the sky turned a beautiful shade of blue. I took Presea's hand and started walking back to the tent. I kept thinking about what Raine had said earlier. What could she have meant by that?

"Genis. I need to talk to you."

I stopped and turned around. Raine was standing a couple metres away from me. "Can it wait?" I asked, putting my arm around Presea and pulling her close.

Raine shook her head. "It can't, actually."

I let go of Presea and gestured to her that I'd be a minute.

"Let's go for a walk."

"I don't have a choice, do I?"

"It was not a request."

We started walking. Raine turned to look at me. "About what i said..."

I stopped and met her eyes. "Was it true?"

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes. It is true."

"Care to explain?" We started walking again.

"My mana is quickly depleting. Getting visions of the future from that orb requires a large amount of mana. The amount of mana used for the visions mixed with spellcasting on a regular basis... it's starting to take its toll on me."

I thought back to the past couple days. It all made sense. She had dark circles under her eyes. She had an obvious limp. She seemed worn out and tired all the time.

"And if that doesn't kill me... Mithos will."

"Wait. What?"

Raine gulped. "Today, after I told him you were in Iselia, he said that he would kill me if I lied."

I kicked at a rock as we walked through the ruins and towards the woods.

"And the truth is, there is nothing I want more than to die."

I grabbed her arms and looked her in the eyes indignantly. I sighed and my gaze softened. I let go of her arms. "Why do you want to die?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I've accomplished everything I've ever wanted to do. There is no more research I would like to do. If I'm not being of any use to the world and there is nothing more I want, I may as well die." she smiled and lightened the topic. "Plus, I could start a new research project about what it's like after death."

"This is not a joke!" I snapped. "Please don't die..." I looked at our surroundings. The sky was almost black now and we were getting far from the base; we could no longer see the light from the fire Sheena had re-lit at the campsite.

"It's getting dark. We should start heading back now." I said to break the silence.

"Alright."

"Wait a minute. So if we go to Iselia, Presea gets wounded. But if we hide, you will die. So what do we do?"

"I wish to die."

"No! I won't let you die! We'll do something! Anything! Just... just don't... die..."

"What are you saying? Do you want Presea to be hurt?"

"No! Gods, no! That's like asking me if I'd rather be blind or deaf. I can't choose between you and Presea." I went quiet. "You're my sister. You raised me on your own when you were only, how old? Thirteen or so? That, in itself, is pretty amazing. You're a great person and you're the only family I have left."

I stopped and thought for a second. "But Presea. Gosh, I just love her so much. She makes me so happy. She's smart, beautiful, strong, and wise--not that you're not any of those things, of course--and I don't know if I could live without her. But come to think of it... she wouldn't really die. She'd just be injured... but I don't want that to happen! Why does it have to be like this? Why does someone have to get hurt either way?" I brought my hand up to my forehead.

I don't think either of us noticed we were back at camp. "Well, think about that." Raine said before crawling into her empty sleeping bag in the tent. "Goodnight, Genis." she said before closing her eyes.

I removed my coat and slipped into my sleeping bag. Wasn't there something we could do where nobody had to get hurt?

I shifted as close as I could to Presea, whose red sleeping bag was beside mine. I put my arm over her and whispered into her ear, "I'm sorry."

I had made my decision.


	7. picked at it

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...i picked at it..._

* * *

"Oh... that's not good... I'm afraid this calls for a change in plans."

"Yes. We must leave immediately. I will wake him up."

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Genis. Get up."

I groaned and shifted my position. It was too early to get up and I hadn't had a good sleep in forever...

"I said get up!" I heard Raine shout.

Ugh. I obviously didn't have much of a choice. I placed my hands on the ground and propped myself up.

I wiped my eyes and saw that Presea, Sheena, and Raine were all ready to leave. "What's going on? It's hardly past sunrise!"

"We're going," Presea gulped. "to Iselia."

"Raine told us what Mithos had said," Sheena crossed her arms. "So we've changed our plans."

"But there has to be another way!" I exclaimed. "There has to be something we can do where nobody has to get hurt!"

Raine looked at me and sighed. "Unfortunately there is no simple solution like that to a problem like this. Now get ready, we must leave immediately."

I slipped into my coat, tied my shoes, grabbed my Kendama, and helped the three girls take down the tent. Raine reached into a large, black bag and pulled out three Wing Packs. She tossed one to me. "You and Presea can share." I smiled at Presea, who smiled sweetly back at me. I walked over to the pink-haired girl and gave her a long hug. I let her go and looked her in the eyes. "Everything will be alright."

"I hope so." she replied.

I pushed a button on the Wing Pack and I watched as it unfolded and became a Rheaird. Presea and I slid into the cockpit and I grabbed the handles of the white machine; she held me around the waist. We watched as Raine and Sheena put the cloth from the tent and all four sleeping bags into the big black bag Raine had pulled the Wing Packs from earlier. They activated their packs and boarded the Rheairds. Raine hoisted the bag onto her Rheaird. As soon as we were all ready, we took flight and went far, far away from Heimdall. The ride was calming; with Presea holding me, the wind in my face, and the scenery of the now-combined worlds, I almost forgot about the situation we were in.

As soon as I saw Iselia in the distance, I slowed down my Rheaird. Sheena and Raine followed suit and we gradually slowed down and eventually came to a halt outside of the forest on Iselia's border. I took Presea's hand and we stepped off the Rheaird together.

"I will be strong, like I have done many times before." Presea said.

Sheena got down and folded her Rheaird back into the Wing Pack. Raine lifted the black bag off her Rheaird and proceeded to fold it just as Sheena was doing. I did the same. We tossed our Wing Packs into the bag Raine now had on her back. "You're still hurt. Let me carry that." I offered.

"It's not serious. I can manage." she grunted.

"Fine. Whatever you want." I said.

I was freaking out as we approached Iselia. What could Mithos want? What would happen to Presea? Were the events Sheena showed me really about to happen?

Presea pulled me towards her and reseted her head on my shoulder. I didn't want her to let go of me.

We cautiously entered the peaceful village, unsure of what would happen. I drew out my Kendama, prepared for a fight. Sheena grabbed her cards. Raine was carrying her staff. Presea's hand rested on the hilt of the dagger she always kept at her side.

To all of our relief, Iselia was just as quiet as ever. Villagers wandered aimlessly around the town, a dog barked. No evil ex-Cruxis leaders here.

But then I saw that kid.

It was Soth, that blonde boy from the vision. He was sitting beneath a tree and looking up at the sky. He looked lost in thought.

I looked at his eyes. Yes, that was definitely not Mithos. Soth's eyes were an aqua-teal colour; Mithos' were a deep, dark blue.

I only realized I had been staring when the boy yelled "Hey jackass, anyone ever tell you it's rude to stare!?"

I smirked. "And speaking of rude..." I replied cooly.

The small blonde stood up and walked towards us.

"What did you say to me?" he demanded.

Raine shot me a look that said "GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE."

When Raine knows something's not right, you know that something is definitely wrong.

"Nothing important. I'll be seeing you soon." I said. I turned around and walked away, leaving Presea, Sheena, Raine, and Soth behind.

I wandered around the village. It hadn't changed much in the ten years I'd been gone; the house that used to belong to Raine and me was still there and in good shape. I stood in front of the homey abode. It was so familiar.

Memories came rushing back to me. Memories from my childhood, memories of the journey, even memories of... him.

Oh my gosh.

I had just left Presea with Soth!

I thought back to the scene.

When we arrived, I saw Mithos standing over a body, which we later found out to be Presea's.

Mithos saw me. Sheena attacked him. Sheena was hurt. I cast a spell. Mithos... left Soth's body? I still don't know what happened there.

I needed to get back right away.

Wait. As long as Sheena and Raine are there, she'd be fine. Right?

I was still standing in front of my old house when I heard Sheena's voice behind me. "There he is!" she exclaimed. I turned around to see Sheena and Raine running towards me. But where was Presea?

Oh no. This can't be good.

Sheena laughed. "You know, after you left, he called you a jerkoff." Raine snickered at that.

"Where's Presea!?" I asked indignantly.

"Oh, she's right--" Raine turned around. "Uh oh."

Sheena gasped. "She was with us a second ago!"

My heart sank. At this point, anything could be happening to her. I yelled, "We have to find her!"

As if in response to my statement, I heard commotion from the city centre.

Raine shook her head and looked down at the ground. "I'm afraid it may be too late."

Now I could see townspeople rushing to their houses. Something was definitely up.

I heard a cry of "PYRE SEAL!" and instantly I knew what was going on.

The scene had started. I rushed toward the middle of the village. Raine and Sheena followed. We stood behind the nearest building and watched the fight.

It was just like I remembered.

My focus drifted from the fight in front of me and toward the figure standing near the backside of the schoolhouse, which was parallel to the the building we were standing behind. It was me.

I watched as I quickly cast a water spell to help Sheena. Mithos was shot straight into the air; he was caught off guard and landed sprawled on the ground. I watched myself walk over to Presea, examine her body, then turn to the mysterious blonde kid and pick him up by the collar. I let out a silent laugh as I remembered what an ass he was. What was his problem, anyway?

Now I was giving Sheena some of my mana. As soon as I had finished, she jerked upwards and let out a gasp. I still wonder what had caused that. Maybe I'll ask her about that later...

Sheena summoned Luna and Sylph and the two of us were gone.

"Genis! Let's go!" Raine gave my arm a tug. We ran to Presea as fast as we could, brushing up dirt as our feet nearly flew across the road.

Last time I hadn't looked over her body much; I saw the pink hair, pale skin, and blue dress and I knew immediately who it was. I noticed the cuts all over her body and assumed the worst.

This time, I gave her a closer look; the cuts weren't actually cuts, but more like... rashes, almost. Her breathing was short and shallow and she had deep, dark circles under her eyes.

Maybe the wounds weren't physical...

"What the hell? But you guys... you just..."

I just remembered that the short blonde boy had been there the whole time.

Raine and Sheena immediately got down on the the ground beside Presea. Raine rummaged around in the pockets of her robe for a gel, which Sheena quickly applied to Presea's skin. Raine cast a healing spell.

I walked towards Soth. "You're Soth... right?"

"Right. And you're Genis." I could tell he was tell he was trying not to laugh.

I rolled my eyes. _How_ many times had I heard that one before?

"Look, we have an explanation."

"But you said a minute ago that..."

"Forget everything you heard a minute ago."

Raine gasped. "I- It's not working..."

I turned around and ran over to Presea. "What do you mean it's not working!?"

"I mean that the wounds are not physical." She swallowed. "It's just as I feared."

"What's happening to her!? Can we save her!?" I demanded, grabbing Raine by her shoulders.

"Her mana is quickly dying." she looked up at the sky. "and at this point, I'm afraid the only that we could do to save her is... give her the last of my mana."

I was stunned. "No! You don't really mean that... do you?"

Raine gazed deeply into my eyes and smiled sweetly at me. "I do." She closed her eyes and placed her hands on Presea's forehead.

"Goodbye, dear brother."


	8. never heals

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...it never heals..._

* * *

A white aura of mana surrounded Raine. It was blinding at first, but as she transferred her mana to Presea, the light gradually dimmed.

"Raine! No! Don't do it!" I screamed, but I was far too late.

Sheena was crying and shaking Raine. "You can't die!" she cried out. Nothing we said was going to help, as she was in some sort of trance.

Soth just stood there, eyes wide. "...the hell?" he finally managed to say, utterly shocked.

I held back the tears in my eyes as the light around Raine dimmed to a faint glow. She was sacrificing herself for Presea.

She was dying at last, just like she'd wished.

This was all so unreal.

The light around the half-elf mage eventually stopped entirely and she collapsed backwards. I caught her head before it hit the ground.

As soon as Raine collapsed, Presea gasped and opened her eyes, which were about as big as saucers. Sheena helped her up, tears pouring from her eyes like faucets.

"W-what happened to Raine!?!?" Presea exclaimed.

"She sacrificed herself to save you..." I choked out. It took everything in me to restrain myself from bawling.

Death. The empty loneliness tugged at the back of my heart; it was something I hadn't felt in ten years, and it was something I'd hoped I'd never have to feel again. No, this time I wouldn't let my emotions get in the way... this time I wouldn't try to stop it. What happened last time was all my fault. What happened last time is what caused this all to happen. I regret it now, and I hate myself for being too weak to kill him. After all, it would've prevented all this.

I was such a fucking coward.

Soth stormed over to us. "OKAY, WHAT THE HELL." he screamed. "CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME WHAT IS GOING ON."

I looked up at him, still holding Raine, and yelled, "CALM THE FUCK DOWN, YOU LITTLE SHIT." I looked back down at Raine. Her face was as whiter than the snow in Flanoir. I placed my hand over her heart. Her skin was as cold as ice and I couldn't feel her heartbeat. "She really is dead..." I closed my eyes.

"Huh, so this is what it's like to die."

It was Raine's voice. It was quiet and muffled and I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

I looked down at her hand. Her exsphere! That was it. She was talking to us through the exsphere she had kept equipped from all those years ago.

"Raine!" I shouted.

Presea, Sheena, and Soth all crowded around Raine, who I was still cradling in my arms.

"Everyone... Sheena, you were my best friend. I really will miss you. Presea, you are such a strong girl. I am honoured that I gave my life to save you. Genis, you were the best younger brother I could ever ask for. Thank you all for making my life as amazing as it was. My body... it is fading... I'm going to use the last my power to say thank you to you all and tell you to take care of the orb. But I must leave this world now... thank you... and goodbye..." Raine's voice faded.

"Raine..." Presea looked at the lifeless half-elf. "Why did you save me?" she whispered. There was no answer.

The body in my hands began to fade away. "No! Don't leave!" I shouted, but it was no use. Raine's body completely faded away within a matter of seconds and her exsphere fell to the ground, making a clinking noise as it bounced off a small rock. I strode over to the small, red stone and picked it up. I closed my fist over it. "Mithos, I swear I will destroy you."

Everyone was still in shock. "I... I can't believe she's really gone..." said Sheena. I just now remembered that guy Soth was still with us, and I realized we owed him a couple explanations. But first, he had some explanations to give to us.

I pointed at the Cruxis Crystal above his heart. "Do you know what that is?" I asked him.

He raised an eyebrow. "What's it to you?"

I sighed. "Can you take this seriously, please? We can't explain anything to you if you don't clear up a couple of things for us." I placed Raine's exsphere in the pocket of my baggy navy-blue pants and crossed my arms across my chest.

"Fine. Whatever you say." he said with a sarcastic tone in his voice. Man, was this guy ever a douche. "I found it a couple months ago, just lying around."

"Where did you find it?" Presea questioned.

"I found it in the forest outside of Iselia." he replied. "It was almost as if this strange gem was..." he stopped for a second and thought. "...calling out to me."

Sheena wiped her eyes with the pale purple fabric of her shirt's sleeves. "Explain." she said

He looked down at the ground. I expected some kind of witty comment, but instead he said "It's almost as if I could hear this voice... it was telling me to go to the forest. As I approached the forest, the voice got louder. I entered the forest and it started screaming at me. I could no longer understand what it was saying. I kept walking and the voice got so loud that I felt like my head was about to explode...but then I looked down and I saw this gem on the ground." he touched the red Cruxis Crystal above his heart. "I picked up the gem, but as soon I touched it, it... fused into my body. If that makes any sense."

I raised an eyebrow. "That gem is called a Cruxis Crystal." I walked over to him and examined it. As soon as I got close to him, I felt a strange aura coming from his body. That would mean...

I looked up at him. "Are you a half elf?" I asked calmly.

He seemed taken aback by this question. His eyes widened and he stepped backward. "Wh-- no! I'm not a half elf..." his eyes flickered away from my gaze.

I stepped forward. "Don't lie. I can sense it." I paused for a moment. "You don't have to worry, I'm a half elf, too, as was my sister."

Soth closed his eyes and smirked at me. "Why are you asking me if you already know the answer?"

I glanced over my shoulder at Sheena. "Because I'm the kind of person who needs confirmation with their own eyes."

He stepped forward again. "Yes. I am a half elf. Are you happy now? Now tell me more about this... 'Cruxis Crystal'." he said, sounding annoyed.

I sighed. "Cruxis Crystals are an evolved form of exsphere. Ten years ago, an organization named Cruxis, made up of mainly half elves, used Cruxis Crystals to evolve into angels. When you become an angel, you are no longer able to sleep or feel."

"So what are you saying? That I'm going to become an angel? That I'm not going to be able to sleep or feel or anything?" Soth replied.

I looked back at the red gem above his heart. "Well, you said you found the Crystal months ago, right? If you were going to turn into an angel, I'd assume the process would have started by now. Have you noticed anything... different about yourself? Have you stopped feeling hungry or tired?" I questioned.

"No, none of that!" he exclaimed. He then sighed and looked down at his feet. "But when I get angry... it's like I black out and something takes control of me. I don't know how to explain it." he looked up at me with a mischievous look on his face. "And even if I did know how to explain it, I wouldn't tell it to YOU."

At this, Presea stood up and yelled, "Look, can you stop being an asshole for one second?"

"Shut your mouth, sit the fuck down, and stay out of this!" Soth yelled back.

"Don't talk to Presea that way!" I screamed at Soth. My cheeks burned with anger. I couldn't stand this guy, but he obviously had something to do with Mithos, and I needed to find out what was going on with him. Why was he back? Why did he want me? What was he doing? Did he still want me like I wanted him?

I chased the thought out of my head as quickly as it had come. No, because I didn't want him at all.

It was getting harder and harder to deny it.

Why could I possibly want him? He was the one who caused so much pain and suffering, so many needless deaths. He deceived me, he deceived us, so for what tiny, possible reason could I even THINK of wanting him?

I thought about that for a second.

Because I was in love with him, as I have been for the past ten years.

I couldn't deny it anymore.

"Everybody calm down!" Sheena screamed louder than me. Reality snapped back to me. Sheena stood up. "You two hate each other. We get that. Could you forget about that for a minute so we can all figure this out?" Sheena glared at Soth and me.

"Fine." I snapped back at the ninja and then shot a dirty glare at Soth.

"Why don't we go over everything we know about the situation?" Presea suggested. "Let's set up camp outside the village tonight. Soth, would you mind staying with us for a while? I'm sorry that you've been caught up in all of this..." she added apologetically.

Soth looked from Presea to Sheena to me to the big black bag lying on the ground next to us and raised an eyebrow. "Give me one good reason."

I was the first one to speak up. "Because we have to stop Mithos from doing whatever it may be that he's doing, and since we saw him prettymuch... take over your body back there, you're the only lead we have."

He shrugged. "Good enough for me. By the way, where is it exactly that you guys plan on staying?"

Sheena picked up the bag that Raine had been carrying earlier. "Well, we have this tent--"

"A TENT? Oh man, I can't believe I'm doing this..." He shook his head and laughed, then turned around and started to walk in the direction of the forest. "Might as well start setting up, right?"

We all nodded in unison and started walking. I didn't like this guy one bit and I didn't have a good feeling about any of this... but what can you do, right?


	9. never goes away

**A/N: **Haha, this one's really long. Sorry about that, I couldn't find a good place to end it! On an unrelated note, I promise more of the characters will come back soon! But you'll just have to wait and see which ones... MWAHAHAHA! By the way, sorry for killing off Raine, Raine-lovers. T_T Don't kill me.

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...it never goes away..._

* * *

We found a nice clearing outside of the forest and decided to set up there. I entered the forest to go look for firewood while the others set up the tent.

I was still in shock from Raine's death. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the small, shining exsphere. Was she really gone?

"...nis..."

"Ge...nis..."

It was Raine's voice.

"Raine!?" I said, sounding almost too happy.

"D...destroy... my exsphere..."

I was taken aback by this request. "I can't!" I exclaimed.

"This is... my last request. Please..."

I was now deep within the forest. I sat down on a rock next to the small stream that ran through the centre of the woods. I sighed and said, "If it is what you truly want."

"...Genis... thank you. You have grown up."

I simply placed the red gem on the ground and stepped back, pulling out my Kendama. I closed my eyes and let the powerful earth mana flow through my body. Casting magic was like my escape from reality. I silently chanted "Engulf these pathetic souls.", opened my eyes, raised my Kendama above my head, and yelled "Ground Dasher!"

I took another step backward and watched as rocks shot up from the ground in all directions, shattering the exsphere. "Goodbye, sister..." I said, shaking my head. Tears were threatening to fall from my eyes again. No! I had to be strong. Raine wouldn't've wanted me to cry over her...

"Isn't this amusing."

I recognized that voice instantly and turned around, shocked by what I saw. Soth stood about ten feet away from me. He then stepped forward and looked me in the eyes. What I saw was something that was impossible to forget, even after ten years.

Instead of the bright aqua-green colour of Soth's eyes, I saw a dark blue-gray. Oh no. This was not good. I needed to get out of there, NOW.

The blonde recognized my surprise and immediately a sly grin spread across his face. He stepped forward again. "I've been looking for you, Genis."

Quickly scanning the area around me with my eyes, I realized I had nowhere to run. I was cornered against the stream.

"Mithos..." I breathed out. I stared at the shorter, younger-looking male and realized that Soth and Mithos looked EXACTLY alike except for one thing.

Their eyes.

I tightened my grip around my Kendama. The smile quickly slid off his face. "I don't want to fight you." The smile reappeared as quickly as it had left. "I just want to make you an offer."

Suddenly the blonde's hands shot up to his head. "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" he screamed. He got down on his knees and closed his eyes. What was going on...?

His eyes opened again. I noticed they were different; one was a teal colour, the other staying the same deep blue. Of course! How could I not realize what was happening?

I stepped forward. "N--no! Stay away!" he shouted, his whole body trembling. He raised his hand in front of him, gesturing for me to stop.

Suddenly he collapsed, his frail body sprawled in the dirt. This was all too weird, but I'm starting to understand it more and more.

I walked toward the boy, stopping when I saw light flickering off a tiny red shard on the ground. It was a piece of Raine's exsphere. I bent over and picked up the shard, carefully placing it in my pocket before running over to the body on the ground. I slid my hands underneath the male's slender body and lifted him into my arms before racing back to Sheena and Presea.

"Oh my gosh, what happened!?" Sheena exclaimed, rushing over to me and lifting Soth/Mithos from my arms and into hers. She placed him on a sleeping bag in the newly set-up tent. Presea placed a hand over his heart.

"He'll be fine," Presea said calmly, "It appears he's only fainted."

As I approached the tent, Sheena stepped outside and repeated herself, looking into my eyes this time. "What happened?"

I turned my head to the side and stared intently at the ground. "I'll explain when the brat wakes up. I'm off to look for firewood." I said before turning around and heading into the forest again.

"What's up with him? He's been acting funny." I could hear Sheena ask Presea after I started walking. I heard Presea sigh and say "I don't know, but he's probably still hurt from Raine's death, and not to mention how much Soth looks like--" she didn't even have to finish. "Yeah. You're right." Sheena replied, sounding distant. Understandably, everybody has been pretty serious since what happened at Iselia. But was I really acting that different?

I wandered into the depths of the forest and let myself be lost in my own thoughts as I gathered sticks and twigs that we could use to make a fire.

Mithos... he had said he wanted to make me an offer. And how could I not have figured it out earlier, the whole Soth and Mithos thing!? It all made sense, the evidence was right there. I feel so stupid! And Mithos... yes, I do still want him. I'm done denying it. I just wish I didn't. There are so many reasons I shouldn't! He sacrificed so many lives a decade ago, he hurt Raine, he hurt Sheena, he hurt Presea, and most of all, he hurt me in more ways than one. I could go on, too, but that alone should be enough to convince me to fall out of love with him. But alas, I guess feelings don't work like that, no matter whether you're human, elven, or in between.

But Presea-- I still wanted her. Or did I? I don't know anymore.

Do I still want Presea?

She was definitely everything I could ever ask for and more, she was beautiful, strong--both physically and emotionally, and she had a kind heart. But something just didn't feel right anymore.

I sighed and kicked at an oval-shaped rock lying in the dirt before sitting down in the green grass and pulling the shard of Raine's exsphere out of my pocket. "Raine... what do I do?" I looked up at the sky as if it were to solve all my problems. I sat there in silence for what felt like hours (but was actually only a couple of minutes) stroking the tiny, sharp fragment of exsphere before placing it back in my pocket and returning back to the camp with the firewood in hand.

As soon as I approached the site of the tent, Presea exited and gave me a sly smile. "You're back."

I walked right up to her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Indeed I am." I said to her. I got down on the ground, spread out the firewood, and hastily cast a weak fire spell. That should do for the night.

It was evening already. I gazed up at the pink and orange sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Presea said, sitting down beside me. We sat there in peace for a couple perfect moments just watching the sunset...

But all I could think about was Mithos.

"Guys." I heard Sheena say. "He's awake." Good. Now we can talk and try to figure this whole situation out.

I heard Soth grunt and stand up, walking out of the tent with Sheena and sitting down with Presea and I.

The four of us were sitting in a circle around the campfire. Sheena spoke up. "So, I think we should go over everything about the situation as we know it. I know Soth is still pretty confused about all of this, and I think there are a couple things we should clear up."

Soth put his stretched his arms out behind him and crossed his legs. "Go on." he responded in his usual mischievous tone. I rolled my eyes. This was all a joke to him.

"First off, ten years ago, Genis, Presea, and me along with Lloyd Irving, Colette Brunel, Zelos Wilder..." Sheena took a couple of seconds out of her explanation to scowl at the mention of the name. I could understand why; he had betrayed us, after all. "...Regal Bryant, and Genis' older sister Raine helped save the two worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla. Mithos--"

Soth cut her off. "Say, who is this Mithos guy, anyway? I hear his name everywhere."

Presea piped in. "Mithos is Genis' ex-b--"

"--est friend! Yes, we were very good friends..." I quickly and nervously interrupted her. The last thing I needed was this brat teasing me about my sexual orientation.

Yes, if you haven't caught on already, I'm bi. Presea and Sheena already knew and didn't care; didn't care anymore, at least, but that's a different story.

Soth raised his eyebrows and adjusted his position in front of the fire. "Whatever you say..." he said, not sounding convinced at all.

I opened my mouth and was about to say something, but decided against it when I saw Sheena glaring at me.

Sheena cleared her throat. "ANYWAY!" her glare softened. "As I was about to say, Mithos was a half-elf and a fallen hero. He was the one who split the worlds in two and he tried to make an age of lifeless beings where there would be no discrimination against half-elves."

"Don't they teach this stuff in school anymore?" I asked calmly, shutting my eyes and grinning.

"Shut up, dickwad!" Soth shouted at me.

I laughed. "Calm down, sunshine." I mimicked his mischievous grin.

Sheena was getting ticked. "Both of you, SHUT THE HELL UP!" she yelled. We all went quiet. "So, Mithos is a bad guy. He was also the leader of an organization called Cruxis, but I believe Genis has already explained that much to you." she glanced over at the red gem above his heart. "You seem to have a Cruxis Crystal."

"So this... thing..." his fingers crept up to his Cruxis Crystal. He touched the jewel. "...was made by that Mithos guy. Mithos... what was he like?" he gazed up into the pink evening sky.

Presea and Sheena both looked at me, obviously expecting me to answer that.

My eyes flickered toward the small flame in front of me. "Mithos. He was a nice guy with good intentions... but that wasn't enough." I looked down at my feet. "He wanted a world without discrimination, a world where people like you and I can live in peace with both humans and elves. He became obsessed with the idea of a world in which everyone was the same-- a lifeless being, and he lost his mind in the process."

"Lost his mind..." I could see Soth mouth out of the corner of my eye. He looked down and his shoulder-length blonde hair fell in his face.

He looked so much like Mithos.

He was beautiful.

Wait!

I thought back to what had happened earlier today when Mithos took over Soth's body.

What was going on was so obvious.

_"It was almost as if this strange gem was...calling out to me."_

_"But when I get angry... it's like I black out and something takes control of me. I don't know how to explain it."_

_"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" _

The Cruxis Crystal was Mithos'.

With it, he could control Soth.

Sheena started talking again. "That's Mithos. So, for the past four years, Raine and I had been time-travelling to try and prevent future strife. She had a special orb in her possession that gave her visions of the future, and since I still have pacts with the summon spirits of wind and light, I use their powers to travel through time."

Soth was still looking at the ground. He had a pained look on his face, but he gave a small nod to show he understood.

"One day, I found Raine sprawled on the ground. I went to check on her, but as soon as I touched her, I was... teleported into the future. Raine said this vision was not caused by the orb. In this vision, Mithos attacked Presea, injured me, and then left your body. We tried to stop that from happening, but..." she shook her head. "It was no use." she looked downwards.

I glanced toward Presea. "Say, you never really did tell us the details of when Mithos attacked you."

Presea shut her eyes. "After you, Raine, and Sheena had left, I stayed behind to try and figure out more about Soth. But I turned around, and his eyes were different... a colour that looked so familiar... and then he put his hand on my shoulder and started sucking my mana out of me." She had a pained look on her face.

"Do you remember any of this?" I asked Soth.

"N-no! I remember you, Sheena, and that other girl running off, but after that, it's all blank." He shook his head furiously.

"You never really told us what happened to Soth earlier today. He doesn't seem to remember anything about it." Sheena asked me.

I gave a brief summary of what had happened in the forest.

Presea and Sheena looked worried.

"I... think I know what's going on." I said quietly.

Everyone looked at me anxiously. There was no response.

"That Cruxis Crystal belongs to Mithos. It has his soul inside of it. Since Soth has it equipped, Mithos can take over his body."

Presea tapped her fingers against the ground. "Hmm... it would make sense," she replied.

Sheena sighed. "So what do we do now?" she questioned.

"Well, Mithos is obviously back. I don't know how or why, but he's back and he's obviously up to no good. What we have to do is stop him from hurting anyone else."

Soth glared at me. "And how the hell are we supposed to do it if he's _inside_ me!?"

"That I don't know." I coldly responded.

"Well," Sheena said, "You said he only takes over when you're angry, right? In that case, all we need to do is stop you from getting angry."

"Easier said than done." I sarcastically added.

Sheena shot me a death glare. "Not helping."

Laughing, Soth got up and walked toward the tent. "This has been the weirdest day of my life." he said slyly before stepping into the tent and out of sight.

I let out a silent laugh. These have been the weirdest three days of my life.


	10. burn all the good things

**A/N: **Sorry, really really short chapter. Kinda to make up for how long the last one was, and kinda because I just felt like it was a good idea to end it where I did :P

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...burned all the good things..._

* * *

I sat in front of the small, warm flame until the sky turned black, illuminated by only the light of the moon and a thousand stars. I was the only one awake; Soth, Presea, and Sheena had gone to bed long ago. I used this opportunity to go over those mental lists I had made days ago.

I wanted Presea to be safe.

I wanted to know why Mithos was back.

I wanted to scream out of frustration.

I didn't want to leave Presea.

I didn't want more conflict.

Too late.

I didn't want to be confused anymore.

I didn't want the scene in Iselia to happen.

Too late.

I didn't want to feel like this anymore.

Humph. Only two more crossed off the list. Wait, what was the noise? A soft rustling noise was coming from the tent. If that asshole put one hand on Presea--

I looked over my shoulder and saw a mess of blonde hair and two glowing turquoise eyes peeking out of the tent. Soth stepped out of the tent that stood about 10 feet away from me. He didn't seem to notice that I was watching him. What could he be doing...? Hmm, now he was walking. In the direction of Iselia. Should I follow him?

I stood up. He still hadn't noticed me. I decided to follow him. What was he doing up at this time of night in the middle of the Iselia forest, anyway?

He walked down the path on the hill, passing the remains of the human ranch that the Desians had set up ten years ago. Raine had blown it up. Oh, Raine...

I sighed and I felt a tinge of loneliness in my stomach. I still couldn't believe she was really gone.

He continued to descend the hill and finally exited the forest, entering the open field of the combined worlds. It was beautiful at this hour; the normally endless fields of green were now bathed in pale blue moonlight.

Just as I'd thought, the blonde entered Iselia. Picking up my pace to a slow jog, I followed a couple seconds afterwards, being careful not to be seen or heard. He approached the village centre, the same place both Presea and Sheena were attacked and Raine had sacrificed herself. Suddenly, he got down on his knees, obviously looking for or at something on the ground. It was too dark to see...

I squinted and moved closer, trying to see what he was doing. I crept even closer and saw that he was holding Raine's long, wooden staff. Shit! We'd left it here!

I got closer still and saw his hand slither up to the cloudy white orb. The orb started to glow a bright blue light at his touch, the bright flash of light illuminating the small village in an instant. I gasped in surprise and the small, blonde boy turned around, looking me in the eyes.

But his eyes were different... they were blank. It was just like Colette after she had sacrificed herself to regenerate Sylvarant--

Soth closed his eyes and smirked. He slowly opened them again, revealing something that should not have been there...

He stood up. "My Cruxis Crystal is finally complete!" the boy exclaimed.

"...What do you want?" I asked quietly, unable to look away from the sharp stare from those blue-gray eyes... Mithos.

He walked towards me and touched the still-glowing blue Cruxis Crystal above his heart, wings appearing from his back and becoming his other form, Yggdrasill. He kept walking until we were standing face-to-face. "Genis, what I want is you."

He placed his hand on the top of my head and the world went black.


	11. eden eye

**A/N:** We're finally touching upon the main plot... teehee, you'll just have to wait and see all the ways the plot twists and turns now! Lots of plot twists in the chapter and even more to come, I assure you!

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...in the eden eye..._

* * *

I felt the chill of metal against my back and bare arms. The last thing I remembered was Mith--no, Yggdrasill's face and his hand on my head. Where was I? Where were Sheena and Presea? Where was... Mithos?

I slowly opened my eyes. A surge of pain shot through my body as I placed my arms behind me and propped myself up into a sitting position. Funny... my chest felt numb, but I ignored for that for now. I quickly glanced around the room; it was small, barely larger than the room in the Triet hotel Presea and I had been staying in, and in it was nothing but a metal table in the centre of the room that I appeared to have been lying on. The table was made of some sort of metal, the same kind of metal that the walls, roof, and floors all seemed to be made of. Behind me were two sliding doors. This room looked so familiar... where had I seen it before?

I heard the doors quietly slide open behind me.

"You're awake." said the all-too-familiar voice. It could only be one person.

I stepped off the table and stood with my back against the wall that stood opposite of the doors. The metal of the walls chilled my bare flesh; my light blue coat was gone, leaving me in only a black tank top, navy pants, and blue lace-up shoes. The man quickly stepped forward through the doors, only giving me a small glimpse of the room(s?) beyond this one. The doors shut behind him and we just stood there, staring at each other.

I broke the silence first. "What do you want with me?" I asked coldly, crossing my arms and shaking my silvery hair out of my face. I noticed the numbness from before was slowly but noticeably spreading; at first it had started out as only a small tinge above my heart, but I now felt a definite patch spreading from my heart to my collarbone.

Yggdrasill smirked. "I know what you want." he said bluntly, his gaze never wavering.

"What does that have to do with anything!?" I snapped back.

He closed his blue eyes and took a small step forward. "It has everything to do with everything, Genis."

I sighed. "But... I don't even know what I want anymore."

"You know very well... and so do I." he took another step forward. I cocked my head to the side, anticipating his response.

"You want to know what would have happened if you'd picked the other side. If you'd sided with me and helped in my age of lifeless beings instead of siding with Lloyd to find a way to separate the two worlds." he stepped toward me again, stopping at the table. "And now I'm going to give you that choice."

My eyes widened. "W-what? How did you..." the numbness had now spread to the top of my shoulder.

He ignored me. "We have placed a Cruxis Crystal upon you. Right now, it has no Key Crest. Without a Key Crest, the crystal will eat away at your body, eventually engulfing you completely and then killing you. If you agree to join me, I will equip you with a Key Crest. If you decline, you will slowly and painfully die."

I gasped. It felt like all the blood had drained from my body.

I slowly brought my hand up to my chest, the centre point of the numbness and I felt a small jewel. No! This couldn't be happening...

"What kind of a choice is that? I join you or I die." I spat out angrily.

"So which will you choose?" He smirked again, pink wings sprouting from his back. His body levitated, and in the blink of an eye, he flew over to me, grabbed my wrists, and pinned me against the wall. "Just remember, I have ways of convincing you..." he said, looking me straight in the eyes, his face only a couple inches away from mine.

He leaned in and whispered into my ear, "I know what else you want."

I turned my head to the side, trying to hide the blush sweeping across my face. "And what would that be?" I asked quietly.

He moved his hands moved from my wrists to the sides of my face and he leaned in closer, closer, closer. "This."

He pulled me into a long, passionate kiss. I tried to resist at first; I couldn't do this to Presea. But I couldn't deny it anymore. He was right. It was what I truly wanted. I slowly started kissing back and his hands crept from my face down to my lower back, pulling me closer to him. I put my arms around his torso and kissed him back long, hard and passionately, taking in every sensation. I enjoyed the warmth of his body on mine, relishing every moment for it would be the last time I would be able to feel it at all; the numbness kept spreading, it was now creeping up my neck and over my shoulders to my upper back. I disregarded this, cherishing these feelings, his soft, wet lips against mine, our bodies entwined...

He stopped and broke away, giving a sly smile as he inched away from me. "What's your answer?"

I paused for a second, now blushing like mad. "I... yes." I looked him in the eyes again. "I'll join you."

He let me go and turned around, now levitating off the ground. "Just as I thought. You're a smart boy, Genis." he started towards the doors.

"Wait! How did you know... what it was that I wanted!?" I demanded, still in shock from the past ten minutes.

He stopped in his tracks. "Hmph. I was inside your head once before, it's not that hard to get back in." He turned his head to the side, looking at me. "Follow me."

I stepped over the table. "You have wings now. You can use them, you know." he said to me, turning around and touching my Cruxis Crystal. I felt something tingle on the small remaining part of my back that hadn't been numbed by the Cruxis Crystal. I turned my head to the side and saw shiny, translucent wings; they were coloured a bright teal and gradually faded to a deep cobalt blue. They were beautiful.

"Wow..." I said, fascinated by the delicate-looking wings. "Wait, what do you mean 'it's not that hard to get back in'?" I questioned inquisitively. Was he that voice I had heard back in Heimdall?

He sighed. "You remember all those years ago when I used your body as my vessel. I was inside your head." he stopped for a second. I nodded. "And then after my crystal was shattered, you gave me some of your mana. Since I had already been inside your head and now had some of your mana, I could access your mind whenever I wanted."

I stood there for a few moments, floating a couple inches above the ground. "So why is my mana such a vital part to that?"

He sighed. "I don't think you understand how mana transfers really work. When you give someone your mana, you give them a part of _you_. You give them your thoughts, feelings, memories..." He turned towards the door again. "Now, come with me."

Still not yet used to my wings, I slowly and carefully flew over to the door and followed Yggdrasill through it, the doors sliding open as we approached them. This next room was rectangular shaped and had nothing in it but three sliding doors, one of which we had just exited, and an elevator. The doors we had come out of was on the far right of the room; on the left were two doors identical to it. In the centre of the front wall were two (slightly larger) sliding doors and opposite of them was the elevator. Like the last room, the whole place seemed to be made entirely of some kind of metal. I paused to look around while Yggdrasill flew towards the doors on the front wall.

"Hurry up." he called behind him. I trailed behind him through the door and gasped. Was this really...?

As soon as we had entered the next room, he turned around. "Genis, do you recognize this place?" his face was blank and he folded his arms across his chest.

I shook my head in disbelief. "This is... Welgaia." I looked around at the futuristic-looking city of the angels. It was exactly like I remembered it. But how? "I thought the Tower of Salvation was destroyed..." I said, staring at an angel that slowly flew past me. There were angels everywhere. I didn't even know there were still angels...

The angel let out a 'hmph'. "Welgaia was never part of the Tower of Salvation. Welgaia is on Derris-Kharlan. It was connected to the Tower through a portal, but it was never inside it." he began walking again, now in the direction of the giant purple portal leading to Vinhiem, his castle, where we thought we had defeated him once and for all.

"...What is it you hope to accomplish?" I asked curiously.

"The same thing I've been trying to do for four thousand years." He said without hesitation. "I will bring back Martel and then create a world without discrimination. Don't deny that that is what you want, too. I've been in your head. I know. I know you want to live in a world where people like you and me don't need to lie about our race to avoid discrimination, a world where everyone can be equal."

There was no point in trying to deny it. "...Yes. That's what I want."

We arrived at the giant transporter and stopped. "I need you to bring Presea to me."

"What? Why!?" I demanded.

He flew over to me and lifted me up by the neck of my black tank top, holding me high enough off the ground so that we could see eye-to-eye. "Don't ask questions. Just follow orders." he spat out and let go of me. "By the way..." he started, closing his eyes and snapping his fingers. A blinding flash of light appeared and he held a long, thin sword in an ivory sheathe, which he threw to me.

"How much do you know about swordfighting?" he asked.

I hesitated and caught the sword. "N-not much, I've only used a sword once or twice when Lloyd showed me how and that was years ago..."

"Perfect. This sword is lean and lightweight so it should be easy for even someone like you to use." He closed his eyes and smirked again. "And I have just the perfect person to teach you how. Come in."

A bright purple light glowed from the transporter and in the middle of the light I could make out a winged figure. The light died down and a familiar red-haired ex-Chosen stood before me, smiling and flapping his orange wings. He hadn't aged a day due to the effects of his Cruxis Crystal.

"Zelos!?" I exclaimed, stepping slightly backward.

He gave a slight grin. "Miss me?"


	12. too dumb to run

**A/N: **New chapter! Hope you guys like... in this one, Genis finally gets to prove his awesomeness. And I know I've been quite vague about it, but to clear things up, in this story, I took the route where Zelos betrays you and Kratos joins your party instead, so for simplicity's sake, let's just say they _didn't_ destroy Zelos' Cruxis Crystal after the fight and instead they just stabbed him to 'death'. Okay? Okay. :D

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...we were too dumb to run..._

* * *

Zelos glided off the purple transporter, Yggdrasill taking his place at the centre of the portal. "I'll leave the rest to you."

"Gotcha." Zelos replied, nodding.

"Give him the Key Crest and teach him how to use the sword. I'll be seeing you two." the blonde angel said before teleporting away in a flash of light.

I laughed and looked over at Zelos, shaking my head in disbelief. "But... I thought you were _dead_! I thought... we _killed_ you!" He looked exactly like I remembered him. He hadn't aged a day due to the effects of his Cruxis Crystal. The only thing different about him was that his wavy red hair was cut just above his shoulders.

"What can I say? Those were temporary wounds. Anyway, follow me." Zelos turned around. "So, I guess your boyfriend finally convinced you to join us, eh Brat?"

He obviously hadn't changed at all. "He's not my boyfriend. But he did convince me to join." I finally managed to say.

We flew over the green-tinted platform we had found the Derris Emblem stuck in all those years ago. I remembered everything about Welgaia.

"So what've you been up to these past... what is it now? Nine, ten years?" Zelos asked me. We were now on the flat, purple moving strips leading to the entryway of the city. "Well, Presea and I have been travelling around the world--" I started.

"Ooh, so you finally got lucky with Presea! Good job!" he laughed. "To be honest, I didn't think you had it in you! You've become quite the man now!" he gave me a playful punch in the shoulder. But of course, I couldn't feel it.

"Well, I... guess you could put it that way..." I said, ignoring his last couple comments. I tied sheathe of the sword to the side of my belt.

I turned the tables and asked him the same question. "What have _you_ been doing?" I was obviously curious, seeing as everyone I knew, including myself, thought he was dead.

"Kratos saved me. Just like he'd saved all of you from the traps in the tower." he said calmly. "I was taken back to Derris-Kharlan, and, well, that's where I've been ever since, waiting for Mithos' revival."

Waiting for Mithos' revival didn't sound like it would be much fun. "Kratos... is he here also?" I asked.

Zelos shrugged. "He's around here somewhere, but we don't see much of him anymore. Ever since Mithos came back here a couple of days ago with you, he's been... busy. You know, with helping out the whole revival-of-Martel thing."

I sighed. "They're still trying that?"

"Apparently so." we came to a halt in front of a huge metal door at the edge of the city. "Here we are." Zelos said before the door slid open and we stepped inside.

I glanced around this new room. There was a thin, tall hallway with lots of shelves... an angel stood guarding it. This was the same room we had gone to to get a Mana Fragment for Colette's Rune Crest. Funny how I still remember that.

"Identification, please." Funny how I still remembered that, too.

Zelos touched his Cruxis Crystal and a glowing, translucent card appeared in his hand. He held it up in front of him. "Zelos Wilder. Lord Yggdrasill sent me to get a Key Crest for the new guy." he pointed to me.

"My I see his identification first, please?" the angel asked blankly.

I mimicked Zelos and touched my Cruxis Crystal. To my surprise, a card also appeared for me. I examined it. It had a picture of me, along with my name, stating I was a member of Cruxis. I presented this to the generic angel, who simply nodded before flying up to one of the upper shelves and grabbing a Key Crest from it. He handed this to Zelos, who took the golden ring-like object and turned towards the door, beckoning for me to follow.

I trailed behind him and we flew in silence, exiting the supply room and taking a sharp right turn back into the room I had woken up in. This time, however, instead of turning left, we went directly forward and took the elevator up as far as it would go. The elevator came to a quick stop and opened its metallic doors. The two of us stepped out of it and into the room in front of us. It was identical to the room(s) below us, but without the side doors- so basically, it was an empty room.

I stopped and listened to the elevator doors close behind me as Zelos flew to the centre of the room. He tossed me the Key Crest and I swiftly raised my hand and caught it. I glanced at the ornately decorated object; it looked just like a ring as it had a hole in the middle that I'd assume would go over the Cruxis Crystal. I did just that and the Key Crest merged with my skin.

"Now that you have a Key Crest, you can take off your Cruxis Crystal whenever you like. You can also alter your appearance and use angel magic." I looked up at Zelos, who had drawn his sword. "Now give me everything you've got!" he exclaimed with smile.

"Wha-- hey! What the hell are you--" Zelos dashed towards me, sword in hand, giving me no time to respond and no choice but to fight. I grabbed the hilt of the thin, nimble sword at my waist and clumsily held it in front of me with both hands. Damn, if I'd had my Kendama on me instead of this stupid sword--

Woah! He gave his sword a slow horizontal swing and I took a short, quick step backwards just in time for the blade to only ever-so-slightly skimmed my chest, leaving a perfect slit on the front of my shirt. I grunted and hastily thrust my silver blade at Zelos, who swung up his sword to deflect the blow. He reeled to the side and got down on one knee, placing a hand on the ground before jumping into the air, over my head, and landing behind me. I circled around and my eyes widened as he raised his Cruxis-crafted sabre and drove it into my chest. I dropped my blade in surprise, the rapier falling and landing against the metal floor with a loud _clink_. Zelos stopped briefly to push a few short filaments of fire-red hair out of his face before slowly pulling the sword out of my ribcage.

The orange-winged angel gave a sly smile. "Looks like we have a lot of work to do." He placed his sword back in its white sheathe and crossed his arms. "You might not want to take off your Cruxis Crystal for a while, because you will definitely feel that."

I grimaced and placed one hand over my wound, leaning over and using my other hand to grab the sword that had fallen from my hands. "It's not over yet..." I grunted, standing upright and gripping the handle in my palms, staining the ivory hilt red with my blood.

Zelos jerked his sword back from its sheathe and extended his arm so the tip of the blade barely touched my neck. He closed his eyes, his smile never fading. "You're lucky your boyfriend wants me to keep you alive, because I could kill you so easily. We could do this whole 'training' thing the easy way or we could do it the hard way.

Your choice, brat."

"Look, how many times do I have to tell you he's not my..." I sighed. "Oh, nevermind." I raised my sword and swiftly plunged it into his chest. "And don't call me brat."


	13. too dead to die

**A/N:** I'm sorryyyyyy that it took so long T_T I haven't had much motivation to write lately. Meh, I'm not really a fan of how this chapter came out... it's mainly a filler chapter, not much happens. I promise the next one will be alot more epic... stuff will actually HAPPEN in it! (Yes, it's true!) However, we briefly get to see Kratos in this one, so :3 What is the "new plan"? Well, if everything goes according to how I've planned it out, we'll find out in the next chapter. The next chapter will hopefully fill in lots of plotholes... really, I do have (almost) this whole story figured out, so all your questions will be answered in due time. Enjoy!

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...too dead to die..._

* * *

"Hmph." Zelos retracted his sword and held it at his side. "That was pretty good, but you hesitated."

"...Only a little bit, why is that important?" I questioned.

His eyes went cold and the smile finally dripped off his face. "Oh, it's very important." he said, making sure to accent the 'very'. "On the battlefield, you need to make life or death decisions in the blink of an eye; there's no time to hesitate." His infamous smile reappeared. "Also, your stance was a bit sloppy. But other than that, for your third time using a sword... good job." he gave me a small pat on the shoulder and I finally pulled my sword from his chest, not realizing it was still there. Heh.

"Well, I guess you already know that Lord Yggdrasill--Mithos--wants me to train you, right?"

I nodded. "But why?"

"Don't know. You can ask him later, though. But you gotta admit, your Kendama isn't the greatest for hand-to-hand combat." he said, shrugging.

"I've never been good at physical fighting. You know that, and Mithos does too. Magic is my thing."

"Well, I guess it's never too late to learn, right?" he smirked.

"Now, let's work on your stance. First of all, you don't need to hold your sword with both hands. If you hold it with just one, you can move more swiftly to perform and dodge attacks." he proceeded to show me how to wield it and the most effective ways to swing and attack using it. I listened and followed along intently, treating it just like the studying I did back in Iselia pre-world restoration. Wow! I felt more powerful already. So maybe Lloyd wasn't just being an idiot when he commented that he felt stronger after learning new sword techniques...

"You got all that?" Zelos stopped and asked.

Seeing my quick nod, the angel replied with "Alright, then let's try this again. Just do what you can." and readied his glowing green blade. I raised my lightweight sword and we both gave each other slight nods to show we were ready.

We slashed our blades in unison, sparks flying as our weapons clashed against one another. He pulled backwards and gave a quick flick of his wrist, slicing his sword upwards. I sidestepped and watched the blow that was meant for me slice through the air. Fighting was definitely easier with wings. Suddenly, he jumped upwards and spun in a circle, blade in hand, calling out "Victory Light Spear!" and catching me in the midst of the attack, throwing me upwards.

"Fine, if that's the way it's going to be..." I gave a slight smirk and closed my eyes, holding the sword at my side and silently chanting "Reduce these evil souls to ashes." My eyes shot open and I held my silver blade above my head, shouting "Explosion!" Wait... nothing was happening. What?

I stood there, confused and waiting for a giant explosion of flames. Zelos' eyes widened and he stared at my sword. "Umm... take a look at your sword."

I brought my sword in front of me and the two of us just stood there and stared at it. The thin blade had a thick layer of orange flames surrounding it. Ah! I get it! Magic attacks must send power to the sword!

"Hey b--Genis, trying casting some more of your magic." Zelos said, seeming to realize the same thing I just had.

I nodded before closing my eyes and concentrating on casting a spell, calling forth all the lightning mana in my body. "I call upon thee in the land of the dead to unleash thy fury of thunder. Indignation!" I opened my eyes, but there was no gigantic ring of purple lightning like usual. Instead, bright purple bolts of electricity shot up from the hilt of the weapon, engulfing the silver blade and surrounding it with a large aura of lightning. "Wow..." we both said at the same time.

Zelos raised his sword. "Now, where were we?"

I thrust my now-lightning powered sword forward and stabbed the ex-Chosen in the upper chest. I was taken aback when I saw he didn't respond; as soon as I realized he was casting a spell, it was too late.

"Grave!" he cried, raising his fist above his head. I was caught in the midst of the assault of sharp rocks that had shot up through the ground underneath my feet in a split second.

Wait a minute, Zelos had said I could use angel magic now, right? Might as well try it out. Placing my sword back in its sheathe, I closed my eyes again and focused all the light mana I had in my body, amplifying its powers. The incantation just seemed to come to me... "Sacred powers, cast thy purifying light upon these corrupt souls." I muttered before screaming "Judgement!"

Countless beams of light poured from the sky, hitting the spots of the metal floor at random. I set out a small sigh and remembered the inaccuracy of the spell as, to my dismay, none of the rays even touched the red-haired swordsman. However, I was beginning to understand the whole idea of powering the sword; if I held it while I cast a spell, it would become charged with that element, but if I wasn't holding the sword, the spell would cast normally. Still, I couldn't help but wonder why it was given to me, of all people. Ugh, I don't get any of this...

"Chosen."

I heard a voice coming from the other end of the room, knocking me out of my daze. I gazed toward the direction from which I had heard the voice. Zelos turned around and did the same. There was a slightly discoloured ring on the ground that I hadn't noticed before. Within the ring, a translucent hologram of Kratos appeared. The auburn-haired Seraphim was just a calm and collected as I remembered him. Like Zelos, he hadn't aged at all because of his Cruxis Crystal.

Zelos sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?"

Kratos folded his arms across his chest. "Yggdrasill wishes to speak to you. Now that we have the boy, we may put our new plan in motion." he said cooly, ignoring Zelos' comment.

"Okay, Lord Kratos." Zelos replied, placing his sword back in its sheathe. The hologram of Kratos quickly disappeared. "Well, we'd better get going. Don't wanna make dearest Mithos angry, do ya?" said Zelos, turning towards me and giving me a witty smirk.

"Would you shut up?" I snapped.

Zelos gave a look of mock sadness. "Ouch, my feelings." he wiped an imaginary tear from his eye.

I scowled. "Where are we going, anyway?" I inquired.

"To Vinhiem, of course." we took off towards the exit of the small room.


	14. never my world

**A/N: **Alrighty, so SS here, and I'm REALLY sorry for the uber long wait for this. I've had the worst writer's block ever, and I thank you all kindly for the nice reviews, you're all amazing ^^ The reviews really did inspire me to keep going with this and not give up on it. I know where I'm going with this, and maybe I'll actually end up finishing it now! :D So here, enjoy the chapter. There's lots of Genis/Mithos fluff near the end.

**DISCLAIMER:** I don't own Tales Of Symphonia.

* * *

_...this was never my world..._

_

* * *

  
_

I sat lazily in the purple seat in the strange ballroom that this supposed meeting was to take place in. It was a huge room with rows of bookshelves lining the walls; that was nothing unusual in Vinhiem, as most of the walls were covered in rows and rows of bookshelves containing literature on everything from Cruxis Crystals to cooking burritos. The walls were a pale grey-purple and the room contained nothing but a large oval-shaped table with eight chairs surrounding it and all those shelves.

Zelos sat across the table from me, examining his nails and making a concentrated face. After minutes of awkward silence, Kratos and Yggdrasill finally entered the room and sat down at the table with us.

"Zelos. Report on the training." Yggdrasill demanded.

"He's getting the hang of it. Not perfect, but good for his second time." he shot a quick wink at me. I glared back. Idiot chosen.

"We've gathered to discuss our plans for reviving Martel and our latest course of action." said Kratos. I could nearly feel the ice dipping from his tone, and I couldn't even feel at all.

"What is this latest course of action, anyway?" I asked out of curiosity.

"You, Genis, are a very vital part to it." Yggdrasill replied. "If the world won't change... we need to change the world. We need to take action upon all those who have wronged us."

I sighed. "By doing what?"

"Genis, we are going to destroy the world."

I gasped. What!? How... how could they do that!? How could they even suggest that!?

"...and to do that, we need you, and we need to you to learn to wield that sword." Kratos nodded at the sword in the ivory sheath that was now placed at my side.

I stood up in shock and anger. "Why!? Why do you want to destroy the world, and why do you need me to do it!?" I table went quiet. Zelos looked at Kratos, who just closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. Yggdrasill was the one who broke the short silence.

"...Genis, do you want to meet your father?"

This made me stop and fall back in my seat. "What? My father is dead!"

"He's not. He's been here for twenty years." Yggdrasill walked up to me and grabbed my arm, dragging me out of the room and through the many halls of his castle.

"He's alive... my father..." I muttered, my eyes still wide from shock.

We stopped at a door with six locks. If he really is alive, they must really want to make sure he doesn't escape... they sure have him in quarantine...

Yggdrasill unlocked the large door and we took a step inside. I nearly fainted from what I saw.

Sitting on the ground was a tall, skinny man with long, navy hair that covered both his eyes and fell to his waist. He was pale and bony, wearing tattered clothes that covered what they needed to, but hardly. His hands were chained behind his back, but these were chains I'd never seen before- they glimmered in the light of the tiny cell, appearing almost as if made of mana. Noticing the door was open, his head jolted up and his hair fell away from one of his eyes, revealing that they were a deep purple. He seemed hyper-aware of everything going on around him and his eyes glinted with menace.

"Genis," Yggdrasill said slowly, "this is your father, Kloitz."

"You!" Kloitz roared. "This is because of you! You should never have been born!" He struggled in his chains, his eyes growing angrier by the second just by looking at me. My heart sank. I finally met the father I'd thought dead and he wished I'd never been born.

"That's enough, Kloitz." Yggdrasill said calmly. "Don't worry, you're perfectly safe. Let's go, Genis." he turned to me and nodded. "We need to talk... in private." his eyes flashed for a split second. What more can he do to me? My life had fallen apart in about one week. "Sure." I said, trying to hide my sadness and anger. He led me to one of the many sitting rooms in the castle and we both sat down on one of the lilac couches.

"Yggdrasill... no, Mithos... why are you doing this to me?" I couldn't suppress tears any longer. A tear slowly rolled my cheek as I thought about everything that had happened.

"Sssh, Genis... let's talk the way we used to." Yggdrasill took his Cruxis Crystal from its Key Crest and placed it on the table before me. He took his child form and looked me in the eye. I realized what he wanted to me do. I took out my Cruxis Crystal too and slowly tried to figure out how to change my shape. It was difficult and required alot of concentration on form, but I finally managed to do it and I took the shape of a 12 year old again. Feeling started to come back into my body.

"Mithos, I..." I hugged him around the waist and started sobbing hysterically. "Why? Why is this all happening?" I managed to say. "Genis, once the earth is destroyed, we can live here on Derris-Kharlan and be together forever..." I looked up at him, squinting from the tears in my eyes. "...r-really?" I stammered. He gazed lovingly down at me and replied "Yes." I stopped crying. Wiping my eyes, I propped myself up and gave him a sweet kiss. Just like we used to do. He broke away. "I've missed this..." he said, gazing away. "Truth is... I might just love you." he said, seeming embarrassed. "Never in the past 4000 years has someone meant so much to me..." "Mithos, I... love you too... you know that..." I titled my head and laid it on his shoulder. "But... why do you want to destory the world?" I had to ask. It had been puzzling me this whole time. "I know you want it too," he replied. "Judgement to come upon all those who have wronged us. There is still discrimination against half-elves, and if people aren't going to change their ways, they must be destroyed."

"And... my father... why is he here?"

"Your father is this world's seal. As one of Tethe'alla's knights, he was able to use magic, and right after he sent you and your sister through the otherworldly gate, he put a seal on this world's mana... as long as he lives, the world cannot be destroyed. You're the only one who can change that."

"But why me?"

"Because Kloitz can only be killed by one of his own bloodline, and he can only be killed with the sword you're wielding."

"So that's why you want me to use the sword... and Raine's staff? What did that have to do with your revival?"

"Raine's staff was part of my Cruxis Crystal. She could see visions of the future because those were my memories. She gave her mana in exchange for my memories."

"And Soth?"

"His real name is Sothim. His birth was pre-arranged; he was born solely to be a vessel for my soul to be transfused into."

"So... you want me to kill my father?" that was a twang at the heartstrings.

"Yes... that's what I need you to do." He gave me a quick kiss before putting his Cruxis Crystal back into its Key Crest. "Now we'd better be getting back, the others will be worried," He said with a slight grin. I followed suit and put my Cruxis Crystal back before following Yggdrasill out of the sitting room and back toward the meetingroom.


End file.
